Oil heater and vaporizer



Jan. 28, 1930. c. P. CHRISTENSEN OIL HEATER AND VAPORIZER Filed Nov. 16,1928 a wwwoa 7 I F d I abbom'w.

Patented Jan. 28, 1930 PTENT OFFICE CARL P. CHRISTENSEN, F UTICA, NEWYORK OIL HEATER AND VAPOBIZER Application filed November 16, 1928.

This invention relates to an electric heater designed for heating andvaporizing gasoline or other liquid fuels employed for operatinginternal combustion engines, or the like.

The primary object of the invention is to provide an oil heating andvaporizing medium, which may be substituted for the well-knowncarburetors common to internal combustion engines, said ,heater beingarranged to be mounted within the manifold which distributes the fuel tothe several cylinders of the engine, and being so arranged that thegasoline or other liquid fuel passes through the heater where itstemperature is raised sufliciently to produce a fine hot vapor which isdischarged by the heater into the manifold, from whence it is drawn inits preheated and thoroughly atomized state into the cylinders by theaction of the pistons. A

further object is to provide a glass or silica bulb-like casing, inwhich is disposed axially a tube of relatively small caliber thatconducts the fuel towards the manifold, the ar rangement of the casingand tube being such as to provide a space surrounding the tube in whicha vacuum is maintained, and wherein the heating and vaporizing of thegasoline is effected electrically bv a filament compris ing tungsten orother suitable high resistance material, which is coiled around the saidtube and forms a part of an electric circuit which may be energized bycurrent derived from a storage battery, or other source; the bore ofsaid fuel tube being free from obstructions, and the flow of thegasoline and the electric current being controlled respectively by asuitable valve and an ordinary switch. And a further object is togenerally improve and simplify the instrumentalities for conditioningvolatile and other liquid fuels. by reducing the number of parts andcost of construction; to increase the efficiency of internal combustionengines by preheating the fuel to the point of vaporization, as well asto eliminate fuel waste and minimize the hazard of fire due tooverflowing or other uncontrollableaction of ordinary carbureters andthe like. I attain these objects by the means set forth in the detaileddescription which fol- Serial No. 319,866.

lows, and as illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1is a partial side elevation and partial central vertical section of themanifold of an internal combustion engine common to automobiles, towhich my improvement is applied, the latter also being in centralvertical section. Fig. 2 is an enlarged partial elevation and partialcentral vertical section of the heating and vaporizing mechanism. AndFig. 3 is a diagram of the complete electric circuit.

In the drawing, 2 represents conventionally one type of internalcombustion engine used for propelling automobiles. 3 represents theusual manifold, by which the cylinders of the engine are supplied withfuel, such as gasoline, and comprises a T-shaped body having ahorizontal portion 3 which embraces and communicates with the severalcylinders, and a vertical portion or leg 3 that usually connectsdirectly with a carburetor (not shown). 4 represents the usual steeringmechanism, comprising hand-wheel 4, and shaft 4, upon which is mountedthe usual manual throttle mechanism, including a rod 5, handle 5, and avalve 6, one end 6' of which connects with the rod by a sleeve-coupling5 The bottom end of the leg 3 is shown formed with a horizontal flange3, which is perforated for attachment to other parts. The leg 3 of themanifold is shown formed with windows, as 3, for the admission of air todilute and oxidize the gasoline vapor, and this portion of the leg isfitted with an apertured sleeve 3 which is rotatable for opening andclosing the windows. In the present case, the well-known carburetor isdispensed with, and in its stead is provided an iron or other metal body7, which is arranged to close the flanged bottom of the manifold, thesaid body being fitted with a number of threaded studs 7, that engagethe perforations of the flange 3, and is held rigid by nuts 7 The top 7of the body 7 is preferably flat and upon this surface is mounted abracket or support 8, which may consist of hard rubber. or otherinsulating material, the bracket being formed with an upwardly facingsocket 8' and with perforated flanges 8, which may be secured to thebody by bolts 8. The socket 8' extends downwardly through the bracketand its bottom portion is preferably cone-shaped. The socket 8preferably alines axially and communicates with a relatively small fuelduct 7, which extends downwardly and through a reduced portion or neck7, the said duct being supplied with the liquid fuel by a pipe 9,

which is secured to the neck by a gland 9. In

practice, the gasoline is preferably strained before it enters the duct7, and for this purpose a disc of chamois 9 is disposed between the neck7 and the gland 9, as shown in Fig. 2. The body 7 is formed with alaterally extending threaded arm 7, which is bored out and threaded, asat 7", to receive the valve 6, the valve being supported and guided by agland 6. The valve opening 7 X intersects the duct 7 at an angle, andthe valve is formed with a cone tip 6*, which may be ground into acorrespondingly shaped portion of the socket 7 My heater and vaporizercomprises a glass or other bulb 10, whose lower end, as 10, is

- reduced and is preferably encased in and reinforced by a brass orother metallic ferrule 12, which directly engages the socket 8. Both theneck 10' and the ferrule 12 are cone-shaped to conform to the lowerportion of the socket 8', and the tips of said cones preferably extendbelow the plane 7 of the body 7, the ferrule usually being ground toeffect a tight seating in a cone-shaped socket 7 t which registers withthe duct 7 13 represents a glass or silica tube that passes axiallythrough the bulb 10, alinesand communicates with the duct 7, and formsan extension as well as the terminus of the gasoline line. The

bore of the tube 13 is preferably extremely small, being but a fewthousandths of an inch in diameter, so as to suitably restrict the flowof the fuel. The tube 13 where it enters and emerges from the bulb 10 ispreferably fused for facilitating the creation of a vacuum in theannular space 10 that surrounds the tube. When the lamp 10 is mounted inthe bracket 8, as shown, the flow of the gasoline is regulated entirelyby the valve 6, which is capable of the finest adjustment. The heatingelement comprises a filament or wire 14, such as tungsten, or the like.This wire enters at one side of the neck 10, thence extends upwardlytowards the top of the enlarged portion of the bulb, where it is coileddownwardly around the tube 13 a suitable number of convolutions, as at 11, and then passes out through the opposite side of the neck 10. Thewire 14 also passes through openings 12 of the ferrule 12, and when thelamp is applied to the'support 8, the loose ends thereof are firstpassed through openings 8 at the opposite sides of the supportforstarting the upward flow of the gasoline.

By strictly adhering to this practice, no raw gasoline or oil is allowedto escape from the vaporizing tube 13 into the manifold to run the riskof being imperfectly atomized before the fuel is drawn into thecylinders. By the present method of preheating the gasoline while it ispassing through the tube 13, there can be no waste of the fuel, andbesides, when the heating of the liquid fuel is properly regulated thethoroughness of the atomize ing within the tube is assured, and this hasbeen found to raise the efficiency of the engine above that of thegeneral run of carbureters in common use. This preheating and completeatomizing of the fuel tends to increase the mileage per gallon of fuelby effecting a more perfect combustion, and also enables the driver ofan automobile to more readily and quickly start the engine without lossof time or waste of fuel, especially in cold weather, when the startingis often delayed until the combustion chambers become heated to theproper extent, Furthermore, my preheating and vaporizing mechanism maybe installed and operated in connection with Diesel and other stationaryengines, and when associated with the modern self-starting mechanisms,greatly simplifies, as well as facilitates the ready starting andefficient operation of such engines. 7

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is A heater forcombustion engine fuel including a bulb formed to have a vacuummaintained therein, a fuel carrying tube in the bulb extending throughthe ends of the bulb, a filament surrounding said fuel-carrying tube andhaving its ends extending through the bulb, the ends of the tube and ofthe filament being sealed into engagement with the bulb, the lower endpart of the bulb being of reduced diameter and having theextremity'thereof of cone-shape,and a metal ferrule surrounding the saidreduced end part of the bulb and the cone-shaped end of the latter andformed to receive the filament ends therethrough.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature.

CARL P. CHRISTENSEN.

